In 257 B.C., Bai Qi, a renowned general of the ancient Chinese state of Qin, arrived at Duyou, not far from the Qin capital of Xianyang. A messenger sent by King Zhaoxiang of Qin brought him a sword and ordered him to take his own life. Bai Qi looked up at the heavens and sighed: “What crime have I committed against Heaven to deserve this?”
After a long silence, he seemed to realize something. The Records of the Grand Historian, in its biography of Bai Qi and Wang Jian, records his final words: “I indeed deserve to die. At the Battle of Changping, hundreds of thousands of Zhao soldiers surrendered, but I deceived them and had them all buried alive. That alone is enough to warrant my death.” With those words, Bai Qi fell upon his sword and died. His earthly life had ended. Yet according to ancient Chinese accounts of karma and retribution, his death did not settle the blood debt he had incurred through the massacre of some 400,000 surrendered soldiers at Changping.
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